3D Printed Guitars by Olaf Diegel

Guitars. Has ever a sexier musical instrument been conceived? We hug them close to us, ergonomically crafted to reverberate close to our heart. No wonder we fall in love with them. Now, materials and manufacturing breakthroughs are enabling ever more innovative designs to be brought to fruition. This awesome 3D-printed ODD steam-punk telecaster by Olaf Diegel for example.

As an electric guitar’s body is less directly associated with output sound than an acoustic guitar, more creative play can be toyed within the design process. It’s worth noting however that materials and form are inevitably intrinsically linked with the output that the pickups convert to the sound which emerges from your amplifier. It’s perhaps worth noting that 3D Systems, who professionally 3D-printed the body for this electric guitar, have also contributed to a stylistically similar acoustic:

But regarding the design, steam-punk is a fascinating, and cool, genre. It’s also pretty analogous to 3D Printing: the mix and mash of old and new styles of making to produce something that stands out as uniquely identifiable.

Seymour Duncan creates some of the most renown pickups in the business, it’s great to see them in the specifications (see below). The Schaler Bridge will also be very sturdy and aid resonance. A maple body, neck and fretboard is unusual to see, but potentially a harmonous addiction to the Duraform outer body, again, the proof will be in the hearing of this.

22 frets give the guitarist a scale reach in standard tuning from bass E to high D four octaves up. I’m a fan of 24 fret E to E guitars myself, but, this is a telecaster, one of the most famous and iconic guitar designs in history, sister of the world famous stratocaster originally branded by Fender. Also noteworthy is that the Steampunk paint job was accomplished by New Zealand airbrush artist Ron van Dam.

To be honest, I love this design. I have yet to have a play, so can make no vouches for sound quality, but the specifications are impressive. If you end up having a jam with this wonder, why not drop us a comment in the comment’s section at the base of this webpage!

I’ve just posted a little video clip onto YouTube of a friend, Nadav Tabak, doing an incredible job playing the various guitars. Have a listen and it might just convince you that they sound pretty decent! :-)

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